Apple users we feel safe with the company. After the controversial of the famous “iPhone of San Bernardino” and the continuous statements public of the maximum leader of the company, Tim Cook, think that few doubt of that Apple is our data as if of a treasure is were. The company is currently aware that privacy and security are on the rise, and so far, except for security bugs that no company is exempted, we can be fairly confident that we are in good hands.
However, even assuming that our confidence is base in made hundred by hundred certain, the reality is that or so if wants to Apple is free of an order judicial that it compels to facilitate certain data personal of them users to them authorities police or judicial. And this is precisely the problem that is hides after the information that the company stores on its servers referred to them contacts that have in iMessage.
iMessage, would guarantee our privacy?
During the last months of March and April, the platform of Messaging iMessage of Apple experienced some holes of security that facilitated the filtration of photos and messages respectively. Not was the first problem of security to which is has confronted the company, and by misfortune to them users, nor is going to be the last.
Apple acted with lightness and in very little time had patched these failures of security. Even so, this made put of manifest that it career between companies as Apple to strengthen their systems of security, hackers and also agencies governmental as the FBI not was to cesar.
Apple has taken a great number of measures so that our information personal is keep in private. A good example of this is the unlock code for the iPhone, or your own fingerprint, is not stored on the servers of the company. But this does not mean that always and in all cases our data are one hundred per cent safe.
Metadata, that can be provided to the police
According to a report published by The Intercept, the metadata of the conversations that we maintain with our contacts through iMessage is stored on Apple servers. Until here can be quiet however, this circumstance triggers that it company could be forced to deliver to the police this information prior order judicial.
The content of the talks is not recorded, but other times connections list, the date, the frequency with which we interact with a contact in particular, the IP address of the user and until certain information concerning the location. How is this possible?
When wrote a number of phone in iMessage to start a conversation of text, the servers of Apple detected said number to determine if the new contact uses iMessage. If not is thus, them texts is sent through messages SMS and the bubbles appear in color green, while those messages sent through iMessage appear in blue.
Having Apple in his power this information, the authorities could legally request these records, and Apple would be forced by law to provide them.
What Apple said, and what not said
Apple said in 2013 iMessage offered a level of end-to-end encryption, so no one, nor the police, could have access to them. While this is true, he didn’t say anything about metadata, say from Engadget.
Apple has confirmed to The Intercept is compliant with the legal requests for these records accurate, but that the content of the messages is still private. The truth, as we all know, is that telephone companies have been providing these data “forever”, and although Apple resisted the assails the FBI earlier this year and it introduced a new file system much safer, in the end, it seems that there is always something beyond our control.
And despite all this, and this is a perspective purely personal, think that Apple is the company that best guarantees our privacy today, because if talk of Google or Facebook have for a while.
